


Outed.

by kotabear24



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Famous Harry, M/M, Student Liam, Student Niall, Teacher Louis, being outed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-13
Updated: 2014-07-13
Packaged: 2018-02-08 17:14:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1949493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kotabear24/pseuds/kotabear24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Harry accidentally lets his relationship with a teacher slip on the radio.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Outed.

**Author's Note:**

> It's an oldie. Don't judge. (Or just lie.)

 “Thanks, Harry Styles,” the Nick Grimshaw milked out through the microphone.

Harry laughed and replied, “’S no problem, mate, thanks for having me!”

Harry looked up and saw Nick do a cut-neck motion, telling him the interview was over. Harry didn’t move, instead choosing to pull out his phone. “Great, Louis’ not yet working, I can call him,” he muttered, dialing the number.

As he put the phone up into his ear, the Nick asked, “Ah, who’s Louis, then?”

Harry smiled and, through the ringing on his phone, said, “My boyfriend; he teaches at Hyde Clarendon.” No less than twelve seconds later, Harry’s PR were bursting in the door and shuffling him out of the room, Paul (who looked confused to pieces) following closely to make sure Harry was safe.

As the PR and Paul walked Harry through the parking garage in the pouring rain, some were throwing angry questions at Harry, some were throwing angry questions on the phone, and Paul was throwing angry questions at the PR, amazed at their audacity to throw Harry around this way without running it by him. Meanwhile, Harry's phone had been stuffed back into his pocket and everything was going insane around him, overwhelming and it would be normal, but the overwhelming insanity was caused by his own team, rather than teenaged girls, and this was terrifying on a very different level.

Finally, Paul broke through the PR and grabbed Harry’s arm firmly, making the final steps to Harry’s car. He opened the door and guided Harry in, crawling in behind him. By the time Harry was in the car, Paul was on the phone with management, and as the car drove away (leaving the angry crew in the parking garage), Paul was demanding to know why he’d just had to spring Harry from his own PR crew.

Through the phone, a shaken Harry heard management’s voice: “He should _not_ have told everyone listening to the station that he is _gay_ and has a boyfriend named Louis!” Paul flinched at Robert’s volume and so did Harry, who had gone pale. Paul glanced over at Harry, running a hand over the lad’s wet forehead routinely, and hung up the phone on Robert.

“Harry,” he said gently, but Harry was busy dialing Louis’ phone again. No answer. Harry looked at the clock on his phone and saw that Louis’ day had already started, and he wouldn’t be able to reach Louis until four. Harry sighed and put his head down on Paul’s shoulder, and Paul instantly threw a casual arm around Harry’s back, rubbing his arms forcefully lest he get a chill. Paul stripped Harry of his jacket and pushed the curls off the boy’s face, turning the heaters in the backseat on full blast and pulling a spare jacket from behind their seat. Harry put it on and leaned back against Paul, eyes wide open and staring into nothing.

“He’s going to hate me now,” Harry mumbled against Paul. Paul didn’t know what the right thing to say was, so he just tightened his arms over Harry and rubbed harder, trying to create warming friction.

 

\---

 

Louis stood walking around the front of his classroom, pointing at the pair on the stage. “What Ellen and Roy were trying to do here,” he was saying encouragingly as he caught sight of a student with her cellphone out under her desk, “was tell Lillian to put her phone away and pay attention in class.” Lillian jumped and blushed, putting her phone in her pocket and looking at Louis with a bit of appraisal. Louis shrugged it off and continued. “Ellen and Roy were _very_ successfully conveying the ‘star-crossed lovers’ theme,” he lectured, making air quotes around the theme he loved. “The idea is that these two were _meant_ to be together, no matter what. That’s the problem with young teens,” he joked. “They never really think about what ‘fated’ means. two students to come closer. He grabbed ‘Romeo’ and swept a hand down in front of him. “Would Juliet love Romeo if he were a woman?” He waited for the class but they didn’t answer.

Louis sighed. “Of _course_ , because they’re star-crossed lovers.” He placed a hand on top of Ellen’s head. “Would Romeo love Juliet if she were some creepy stalker axe murderer?” The students giggled, and as Louis looked around the room, Lillian had her phone out again, talking to a few of her friends. “Lillian, what do you think?” The student jumped again but floundered for an answer, having no success. “Maybe you think that yes, Romeo would love Juliet should she be a creepy stalker axe murderer?” Lillian nodded. “And maybe you think that, since that’s the second time you’ve had your phone out in my class while your peers are participating and working hard to make their grades, you are ready to take the test on _Romeo and Juliet_ today after class?” Lillian blushed but shook her head.

Louis nodded. “Then, please put your phone away, now. If I see it again, it’s mine for two weeks, and I’ll stop the class and give one of my ‘Where Are You Lot Going With Your Lives’ speeches - which gives the whole class plenty of reason to be irate with you.” The students giggled and Lillian put her phone into her backpack, still looking at him funny. Louis winked and smiled, knowing he could never dislike his students.

“So,” Louis clapped his hands loudly. “New assignment. I want you to partner off - doesn’t have to be a boy and a girl - and come up with your _own_ pair of star-crossed lovers. I want the plot line of a skit by the end of the period. One from each pair is fine; just make sure you have both your names on it. Oh, and we _will_ be performing in two days. The skits should be at least ten minutes each, and the theme needs to be _evident_. Alright? And… _go_!” Louis smiled as he watched the class move about, pushing desks together and grabbing hands to get together.

Once the partner-finding session was over, Louis noticed there was only one pair of boys - Liam and Niall. _This should be interesting_ , Louis thought to himself. Louis often spent sufficient time with the two of them - Niall was dating Louis’ boyfriend’s best mate, Zayn. Liam was completely straight. It was only mildly frustrating that he was actually _teaching_ his _best mates_ during the class, when he ached to go mess about with them but couldn’t.

Louis sat on the edge of the stage and watched the class, but his mind was on his boyfriend. He knew Harry had an interview first thing this morning and they would be cutting it close for a two-minute chat, but Harry was so sure he’d at least be able to call. He was Harry Styles - yeah, the one who had blown the nation away on the X-Factor about seven months ago. He was already a huge hit and Louis knew (and was secretly relieved) that their relationship was to be kept secret; he wasn't sure if he could handle all that craziness!

 

\---

 

Harry had met Louis on a plane over the summer holiday a year ago on a thirteen hour flight (Louis was going for rejuvenation; Harry was going for work), having somehow managed to get seats next to each other. Harry had been perfectly polite and the two had ended up chatting most of the plane ride about nonsensical things. It wasn’t until two-thirds of the way through the flight that Harry finally murmured quietly, “Not to sound awful, but do you not actually know who I am?”

Louis had looked at Harry rather seriously and replied, “I was wondering the same thing. Louis Tomlinson,” he said quietly but in such a manner that Harry should recognize the name.

Harry had shaken Louis’ hand and answered, “Harry Styles,” in a likewise (although his was _much_ more confused) manner.

Louis had blushed gently and admitted, “I’m sorry, I don’t actually know who you are.”

Harry had breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, because I don’t know who _you_ are. I’m a singer, by the way - I’m new to the business. I was on the X-Factor last season,” he explained. Louis nodded, remembering the name now - his little sisters gushed about Harry Styles all the time. “And, what do you do, Louis Tomlinson?” Harry had asked politely.

Louis looked around warily and leaned in closer, beckoning Harry forward. “I’m a drama teacher at a high school in Doncaster,” he said in a hushed voice. Harry had laughed outright, taking Louis along with him, their laughs meshing together to make the other passengers irate. As the plane landed, Louis noticed a big giant bloke stand up directly behind Harry and peer at him curiously.

“Could you step back just a bit, please, sir?” The man asked Louis, and Louis eyed him up, a bit affronted.

“I’ve got luggage in the top,” he said indignantly. “And unless you’d like to handle it for me, I ruddy well will _not_.”

Harry had laughed so hard that he fell out of his seat, causing the giant man to frown. Louis reached to help Harry up with a laugh, and the man stepped over Harry, fending Louis off.

Louis stood up, fully irate now, and said with clenched fists, “Well, if you’re not going to let me help him up, the least you could do is turn your arse around and do it yourself!” Harry gasped with laughter.

“Louis, he’s - he’s my -"Harry kept laughing with mirth. “Body - bodyguard. Pau!” The man turned halfway, still eyeing Louis up dangerously, to help Harry stand up, holding a hand on his bicep for stability.

“Bodyguard?” Louis had echoed. Harry, who was still laughing as he wiped tears from his eyes, simply nodded. Louis blushed and looked to the man and stuck his hand out with a grimace. “My mistake, mate,” he offered. “Louis Tomlinson.”

The man finished taking down the luggage from the top before turning around and crushing Louis’ hand in his own. “Paul,” he offered shortly, giving no last name.

“Paul,” Louis repeated. The man nodded in affirmation. “So, Paul,” Louis continued, “how do you get a tissue to danc-?”

“Put a little boogie in it,” the man answered immediately.

Louis nodded. “Why are there fences around the gravey-?”

“Because people are just dying to get in there,” Paul finished, sounding bored as Harry looked on with amazement.

“Alright,” Louis accepted the challenge. “Blonde joke. Why were there seven bullet holes in the mirror?”

Paul racked his brain for a second, and just as Louis was about to leap for joy, he remembered: “Because the blonde tried to shoot herself.” He managed to look bored and smug at the same time.

The crowd started getting off the plane, but as Louis was directly in front of Harry and Paul, he continued to try with Paul as Harry listened with giggles.

“How do you drown a blon-?”

“You put a ‘scratch-n-sniff’ sticker at the bottom of a pool,” Paul answered with a sigh.

“Why do blondes smile in lightning stor-?”

“They think they’re having their picture taken.”

“Why do blondes have ‘TGIF’ written in their shoes-“

“’Toes Go In First.”

“What do _smart_ blondes and UFOs have in common?” Louis asked a little loudly as he stepped into the airport, his carry-on over his shoulder and walking backwards to watch Paul, who was surveying the airport and gripping to Harry’s bicep.

With the question, Paul stopped short and looked at Louis. “Come again?” he asked. Louis repeated it. Paul frowned in thought, which turned into a frown of confusion, which turned to a frown of frustration. After about a minute, Harry and Louis crowed and clapped and laughed together. “What is it?” Paul huffed out.

“’You hear about them, but you never see them’!” Louis nearly screamed in victory. Paul smiled at the joke, but it turned to a frown as a rather large group of teenaged girls came running up to the three of them.

As Louis was so close to Harry and Paul, he would have been hurt had Harry not grabbed Louis’ bicep as Paul grabbed Harry’s and jerked the two lads from the crowd and into the men’s restroom.

Panting, Louis looked at Harry and Paul with a bit more seriousness. “That was-“

“What’s your next flight?” Harry interrupted. “We need to get you there safely.” Louis pulled out his ticket information and read it out to the pair. They both smiled.

As fate would have it, they two had the same connection, Louis questioned the real need for Paul to protect him until the three walked outside and the girls surrounded _him_ as well, demanding to know who he was and such, scratching and clawing to get at him. Louis was a bit unnerved, to say the least, but Paul managed to get a walk-in early boarding in the flight to avoid the crowd.

Louis wasn’t next to Harry on this flight - their luck wasn’t _that_ amazing - but Harry paid the woman next to him to switch seats with Louis, earning Louis a spot on the other side of Harry. The two talked; Paul became silent, just like the last flight (in which he was _so_ uninvolved in their conversation that Louis hadn’t even known Paul was in Harry’s company).

Before the plane actually took off, Harry pulled out his laptop and sighed at his twitter.

“What is it?” Louis asked.

Harry fidgeted. “Everyone wants to know who you are,” he confessed. “They think we’re dating, they think you’re my cousin, they think you’re a stylist…everyone has an opinion…” Harry trailed off, sure that Louis got the idea.

Louis stayed quiet. “Tell them I was just a lucky passenger on a plane who would’ve been hurt had you and Paul not saved me,” he told Harry. “It’s the truth, anyways.” Harry blushed and smiled at that and did as he asked. Not even five minutes later, _#HarrySaves_ and _#HarryAndPaulAreSaviours_ were trending, and Harry showed Louis.

The two talked over the second flight, had exchanged numbers and twitters, and when the plane landed, Paul called a taxi to safely take Louis to his hotel, while Paul and Harry went on their own way to start Harry’s tour. Although Louis never expected to hear from Harry Styles again (which kind of broke his heart a little, which was _stupid_ , because, seriously, he barely even _knew_ the guy), Harry woke Louis up at 3 a.m. two days later with a text.

  
**Harry S  
 _How do you get a blonde on the roof?_**

 

It took Louis a few tries to comprehend that it was a blonde joke, but eventually he smiled. He knew the answer, but he texted back anyway.

 

**_Well, happy 3a.m. to you, too! Erm, I dunno, how?_ **

 

Louis hadn’t even put the phone down before it vibrated in his hand.

 

**Harry S**   
_Tell her the drinks are on the house.  
It’s seriously 3 a.m.?? Jesus, I didn’t even look at the time. Sorry, had a concert tonight, it was MENTAL and the after party was…mentaler._

 

Louis smirked.

 

**_Ohh, that’s a good one. Glad you had a good time! Although…mentaler? The teacher in me is SERIOUSLY cringing right now._ **

 

**Harry S  
 _Oh, don’t even. It’s not like you’re an English teacher or anything. Although, yeah, my autocorrect on my iPhone seriously didn’t like that…what are you doing awake at 3am?_**

 

**_Well, you texted me, didn’t you?_** Louis answered easily.

 

**Harry S  
 _Shit, sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up! Go to sleep._**

 

**_It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I’m awake now, anyways lol._ **

 

**Harry S  
 _No, come on, go to sleep. I’ll feel bad if you don’t. I can always talk to you tomorrow, I have off until like 4. Goodnight!_**

 

**_Harry, really. I won’t be able to go back to sleep lol. Don’t worry, it’s fine. I’m on vacation, remember? I don’t have to be awake at any set time tomorrow._ **

 

**Harry S  
 _No. I’ll call you and sing you to sleep if you don’t stop it, don’t make me!!_**

 

**_Oh no, a professional singer calling to sing me to sleep? What torture…_ **

 

**Harry S  
 _…I’m going to assume that was sarcasm, for my sake. GO TO SLEEP. I’ll text you when I wake up, yeah? Actually, no, you text me. Goodnight:)_**

 

Louis didn’t bother texting back, knowing Harry would only tell him to sleep some more. He set the phone down and worked hard to go to sleep, but all he could think of was Harry. Finally, after about an hour, he picked up the phone and sent out a text.

 

**_Pssssssst! I can’t sleep. Are you awake?_ **

 

_Harry S calling…_

 

Louis was startled when his phone began to vibrate in earnest and he saw that Harry had called him not even a full minute after he had sent the text. Answering the call, Louis didn’t even get the chance to make out a proper ‘hello’ before Harry was singing songs Louis could sort-of remember his mum singing to him and his sisters when they were younger. It didn’t even take half an hour of singing before Louis was asleep.

The next morning started a routine. From that day on, Louis texted Harry when he woke up (because the phone vibrating wouldn’t wake the lad up if he was asleep, but would get his attention if he was awake), they would text all day until one of them had work (Louis’ being teaching during the school year and Harry’s being signings, concerts, interviews, meeting, rehearsals, recording, or writing and composing). They texted each other once they were done and talk the rest of the night until it was bed time for one or both of them. After a few months, they would call as much as they could, but time differences meant sacrificing on sleep and Louis didn’t like the idea of Harry missing any more sleep than he already did, so they would settle for few and far in between texts while Harry was out of England.

After months and months _and months_ of friendship, Harry admitted to being crazy about Louis. Louis couldn’t deny he had feelings of his own towards Harry, but the difference in lifestyles and statuses (social, financial, etc.) made him hesitant. It was one thing to be best friends (and at that point, that’s exactly what they were - best friends) with a world-famous pop star, but to _date_ one was a whole other world. Louis wasn’t sure if he was ready for that.

Harry was on the last week of his American tour, and when Louis voiced his fears, Harry asked if they could meet up. Naturally, Louis said he couldn’t, because it was the middle of the semester for him and he couldn’t even afford to just buy a plane ticket to Washington, D.C. and _no, Harry could not buy him one_. That meant Harry had to wait the rest of the week out before he could return home to England and see Louis.

Louis was surprised, some eight days after Harry’s begging to meet up, to see a black and gray Audi R8 pull up to Hyde Clarendon Sixth Form College. Nobody got out of the car, but Louis knew who was in it, anyway. Forgetting his own car, Louis walked, almost in a trance, up to the car and got into the passenger side without hesitation. It was around four, so most of the students were gone, and Louis turned to look at Harry’s face for the first time in weeks.

Harry was staring hard at Louis, drinking in the older man’s appearance hungrily, and one of his hands reached to touch Louis’ face. Louis didn’t move, only sighed at the touch, closing his eyes and smiling. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered.

Harry leaned forward and pulled Louis into a nearly bone-crushing hug, returned double by Louis. Finally, Harry let go and began driving back to Louis’. Louis let Harry drive in silence, taking advantage of the fact that Harry had to focus on the road, while Louis was free to gawk and refresh Harry’s face in his mind.

After a while, Harry murmured, staring at the road, “I’ve missed you, too. By the way.” Louis hadn’t even realized Harry never said it back; he could tell Harry had missed him, it was written all over the lad’s face. Louis nodded, letting a hand curl over Harry’s on the gearshift. Harry took his eyes off the road long enough to glance down at the hand over top of his before smiling and watching the road again. A minute later, he flipped his hand over to curl his fingers between Louis’. Louis let him.

It was approaching darkness by the time they reached Louis’ house (having stopped at a drive-thru and eating parked in the lot (“I don’t want to drive and eat at the same time, it gets messy,” Harry had protested). The men got out in front of Louis’ house, and Louis invited Harry up. “We need to talk, remember?”

Of course, Harry hadn’t forgotten, so he followed the older lad up ( _yes_ , whilst checking out his bum), closing the door firmly behind them. Louis went to make tea, and Harry sat down, eyes roaming around the (comparatively) small apartment. When Louis appeared, Harry smirked. “How do you get a one-armed blonde out of a tree?”

Louis snorted. “Really, Harry? We’re doing blonde jokes right now?” But he was smirking, so Harry knew he wasn’t in trouble.

Nonetheless, Harry sat up. “You’re right. Sorry.” Louis waited in silence as Harry visibly prepared himself. “I had a speech made up for you,” Harry admitted with a slight blush. “But then I saw you and now all I can remember is how the little scenario ended in my head.”

Louis nodded slowly. “And how did it end?”

Harry blushed. “Well, I had a boyfriend, and I got a kiss.” Louis blushed this time, but waited for Harry to continue. “The thing is, Lou, is that I’m crazy about you. And I know you know that, ‘cause I only told you a week ago, but I wanted to remind you. You scare the hell out of me, Lou. I didn’t know I like blokes. And that’s fine, I’m not worried about it, because I reckon if you were a vicious python or something, I’d develop a thing for pythons. The point is, I don’t care that now I’m apparently fancying blokes. The point is that I just really am crazy about you, and I want to be with you, and I want you to want to be with me. I dunno how it’s gonna work out, and we’ll probably have to keep it a secret from my fans because of management, but as long as I have you, I won’t _mind_ keeping a secret from the fans. I love them but I - I love you more.” Harry swallowed nervously and looked up into Louis’ eyes for the first time, relieved to find a small smile on the man’s face.

Finally, Louis took a deep breath, and Harry’s heart sank when the smile disappeared. “Harry, first I want you to know that - that yes, I like you, too. I’m crazy about you. You basically turn me into a girl. One of your little fangirls, except that I’m ridiculously lucky. I can talk to you basically whenever I want, and I know you confide in me, and I know you care about me, and I get to care about you. I think about you all the time, and it’s so irritating to hear some of my students talk about ‘Harry Styles this’ and ‘Harry Styles that’, and I don’t get to talk about you at all. But…but I’ve seen how your fans reacted to Caroline and Emily, when they thought you were dating them. I saw the death threats, the breaches of privacy…I’m a _teacher_. I can’t afford that breach of privacy. It puts not only me in danger, but my _students_. They’re as close to kids as I’m ever gonna get - it’s not like I’ll ever be shagging a girl - and I will guard them with my _life_. I can’t risk their safety. We can’t be one of those couples - the ones with the fairy tales where I’m suddenly on your arm for every little thing, and I’m shopping with your cards and you’re picking me up and taking me to fancy dinners. The best we’d be able to do is take-out and call-in pizzas at my place or your place. Do you understand that? Why would you want to settle for something boring like that?”

Harry grabbed Louis’ hand. “Because when I’m on tour, all I think about is getting back home. Every once in a while, it’s to see my mum, or Gems. But most of the time, it’s because I am _tired_ of seeing your face through a filmy webcam or through face time on our phones. When I’m on tour, doing interview after interview and publicity stunt after publicity stunt, I just have to text you or say hi and suddenly it’s the most interesting thing in the world. Nothing is _boring_ when it comes to you, Louis. You make life fun. Everything has the potential to be fun for you. I’m not like that, but you make me. So even things like take-out and pizza in front of a TV with sweatpants on and popcorn on the coffee table - that’s fun to me… because you’re with me.”

Louis squeezed Harry’s hands. He took a deep breath. “Are you _sure_ this is what you want, Harry? There’s no going back. You can’t have me one week and not have me the next. I’m not suddenly going to stop dating you when you’re away on tour. It’s me - only me - all the time. That’s the only way this is going to work.” Harry nodded, a blinding grin growing on his face. “And we have to keep this a secret.” The grin froze.

“What?” Harry asked incredulously. “You want me to dismiss you in interviews? Oh the radio? Every time someone asks me if I’m dating someone, you want me to tell them no? Why would you want that?”

Louis could see Harry’s confusion and rushed to soothe him. “Harry, _I am a teacher_. People wouldn’t understand our relationship. And I know -” Louis rushed to continue before Harry cut him off - “I know that it doesn’t matter if they understand, or accept, or anything. But how would you feel if John Mayer’s new girlfriend was your teacher?” Louis let that sink in for a second before finishing, “My students cannot get the education they need and deserve if they know who I am dating, if there are paparazzi showing up at my school during my free period. I can’t let that happen. You mean the world to me, but I can’t let us jeopardize my career or the safety and education of my students. Just like you couldn’t let me jeopardize your career.”

Harry nodded and leaned in slowly. He placed a kiss on the corner of Louis’ lips, whispering against them. “Alright. You’re my boyfriend, and mum’s the word,” he said before Louis tilted his face up to kiss Harry full on, slowly and content.

“By the way,” Harry whispered. “You get a one-armed blonde out of a tree by waving to her.”

 

\---

 

Harry sat with Paul and Zayn in his Range Rover, speeding across M62 on his way to Hyde. He needed to get to Louis. Harry’s phone rang in his cup holder, flashing with Nick Grimshaw’s name. Nick had texted and called and left voicemails all day, apologizing and insisting he hadn’t known the tape was still rolling. Harry believed him; Nick was a good friend. Except now, Nick was the good friend who had gotten Harry’s best-kept secret out over national radio.

Harry wiped his eyes furiously as he focused on the road ahead, fearing for his relationship. _Louis would never forgive him_. “Harry, slow down,” Paul admonished calmly from the passenger seat. Harry looked down and saw he was speeding by thirty. Letting off the accelerator, Harry took a deep breath.

“It’s gonna be okay, mate,” Zayn comforted, and Paul put a beefy hand on Harry’s shoulder.

Harry shook his head. “This was the _one thing_ we agreed couldn’t happen, guys. We _agreed_ that the press couldn’t find out about this. It was Louis’ _one fear_ about this relationship! And you heard it on the radio! It sounded like I just blatantly shouted about my boyfriend Louis, the teacher from Hyde Clarendon directly into the microphone while the tape was still rolling. _Dammit_ , I’m so fucking _stupid_!” Harry beat the steering wheel as he drove.

“I’m texting Niall, I’ll ask if Louis even knows yet, right? Calm down. There’s no need to worry about it yet. We don’t even know if Louis’ heard about this.”

 

\---

 

Niall pulled his phone from his pocket and opened the message, smiling.

 

**Zayn <3  
 _Is lou ok? Is anyt wrong?? .x_**

 

Niall looked up at Liam with his brows furrowed and looked to Louis, who was sat on the stage watching Lillian and her group of friends, all paired off but sat close to each other. The group kept looking up at Louis and back down to their phones, whispering furiously. Niall answered the text.

 

**_He seems fine! but sum of the girls I think are makin him mad, txtin in class ;P What’s goin on?_ **

 

**Zayn <3  
 _…keep him frm finding out as long as u can, but somehow Nick got h to tell him about h and lou on radio. .x_**

 

**_OH GOD._ **

 

Niall gasped and Liam snatched his phone from his hand, reading the conversation quickly before snapping his eyes up to meet Niall’s, widened in horror. Liam threw Niall’s phone back down on the table and leaned in.

“Don’t. Say. A word. I’ll figure out if they know anything.” Niall swallowed and nodded, eyes going to Louis and back down to his paper. He busied himself, pretending to be working, but really trying to overhear the conversation Liam was carrying on with Lillian and her group of friends.

Lillian fancied Liam, so when Liam came and sat on the edge of her desk, he was rewarded with a blinding smile. Smiling easily back, Liam leaned in, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “What are we gossiping about over here, hmm?” Liam swore Lillian almost died when he winked at her.

She giggled breathily and waved her hand. “Oh, just pop star gossip. You know how we girls are, right?”

Liam smirked and nodded. “Naughty, naughty, girls.” They all giggled now. “So what? Not gonna fill me in, then? Am I gonna have to find a different source of information?”

“No,” Lillian said a little too quickly to be aloof. “I - I mean, it’s already pulled up on my phone. Get this,” she said, talking quieter and pulling Liam in gently. She showed him her phone. “Harry Styles just said on Nick Grimshaw’s show that he has a boyfriend - named Louis _\- who teaches at Hyde Clarendon_! And it’s already all over tumblr and twitter - look at that _\- our worldwide trends_ from Harry Styles fans. This is huge. Mr. Tomlinson’s dating Harry Styles!” The last bit Lillian said in a slightly hysterical whisper, and Liam shushed her, still trying to flirt his way to success.

He placed a thumb on her lips, looking into her eyes as he ran the pad of his fingertip over her plump bottom lip. “We don’t want to get Mr. Tomlinson in trouble, now, do we?” Liam furrowed his brow a little and shook his head infinitesimally. Lillian shook her head with him, eyes wide and breathing hitched a bit. Liam let his lips curve into a smile then, looking into her pretty blue eyes. “Good,” he nearly whispered. “Can you do me a favor, love?” Lillian nodded slowly, Liam’s thumb still covering her lips. “Don’t tell anyone until I say so, alright? We can make it a surprise for Mr. Tomlinson. What do you think?” Lillian nodded, and Liam swooped down to brush his lips across her cheekbone, walking away with a wink and a whispered, “Good girl.”

Niall looked up at Liam as his barely-older best mate sat down with a huff. “She knows,” Liam said flatly. “And her friends know, too. Lillian won’t say anything, but her friends don’t fancy me quite the way she does; they won’t listen to me. We need to warn Lou before something happens.”

Without further ado, Niall raised his hand and shouted, “Oi! Mr. Tomlinson! We need help!” Liam snorted. It got his attention, at least.

Louis walked over to his best mates’ table and sat on the edge. “Well? What is it?” he asked, eyebrows raised. Both boys fidgeted, and Louis’ eyebrows only climbed, disappearing under his ridiculous fringe. “What is it, boys?”

“Lou, erm. It - it’s about - about Hazza,” Liam finally muttered.

Louis’ face went pale and he sat straight up. “Is he okay? What’s wrong, so help me God, Liam you better start talki-”

“Lou! Louis, he’s safe!” Niall exclaimed quietly. Louis let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes; his boyfriend was safe. He was okay. Opening his eyes again, he let his face ask the question.

Niall continued. “It’s just - well, this morning, Hazza had a show with - with Nick. And, well. And Zayn said Nick tricked Harry somehow into…talking about you.”  
Niall kept talking, but Louis didn’t register the words anymore. He looked over to Lillian and her group; they were Harry Styles fans. Fans who had been on their phones all morning - after the show was aired, probably while they were all on their ways to school. They knew. Louis’ breathing got heavy. Everyone knew. The whole school probably knew by now.

The bell rang and the students packed up, a good amount of them staring at Louis openly, curious. Liam and Niall stayed behind when the last of the students had gone, but Louis waved them on. “No, I don’t need you two to be late. Go on.”

Worried but understanding that here, Louis did actually have authority over them, the two students left and walked to their classes, patting Louis on the shoulder as they left. Louis braced himself on his desk, trying to stand, rather than double over in shock and (somehow,) agony. He stumbled over to the other side of his desk, pulling out his phone. He turned it on, glad he had a free period second period, and his phone went mad, buzzing every other second with missed calls, text messages, e-mails, voicemails, voxer messages, and it was so overwhelming that Louis’ phone froze for a few minutes.

Finally, Louis’ phone unfroze and stopped vibrating, and Louis sifted through his texts first.

 

**_Hey, baby, have a good day at school. ‘Bout to chill with Nick, I love you!_ **

 

**_Just finished, hope you had a goodo4irng_ **

 

**_Louis. Louis we need to talk, now._ **

 

**_Answer your phone._ **

 

**_Louis seriously babe just answer the damn phone._ **

 

**_Lou it wasn’t my fault I swear, I thought the tape was over_ **

 

**_Louis believe me, I never meant to sell us out like that!_ **

 

**_Louis you need to realize you’re not the only one affected, stop being selfish._ **

 

**_I’m sorry, that was rude. You have every right to be ignoring me right now, but I love you and I’m so sorry._ **

 

**_Louis please._ **

 

**_Louis. PLEASE._ **

 

**_…but I love you. Please answer your phone._ **

 

Next, Louis opened up his e-mail.

 

[harry.styles@yahoo.com](mailto:harry.styles@yahoo.com)  
Louis, this really was NOT my fault. I didn’t know it was on, Nick just asked, and we both know nick, we both trust him. I didn’t think I needed to think about that. he said tape was off; why wouldn’t I believe him! I am so sorry baby oh m y GOD I’m sorry.

 

[Bradfordbadboi93@aol.com](mailto:Bradfordbadboi93@aol.com)  
Lou, he dint kno, hes in pieces now mate. Pick up the phone, he needs u. just believ him, he needs u to understnd rite now. He loves u and he wants this to work between u two but it cant if u dont answr him, bro. its not his fault. At all.

 

[harry.styles@yahoo.com](mailto:harry.styles@yahoo.com)  
Babe you’ve got to believe me, this really wasn’t my fault at all! And I’m so sorry, I should’ve been more careful, but God, I didn’t think I needed to, not with Nick. That’s like being careful around Nialler or Zayner or Li. It just wouldn’t make sense, baby please understand. I’m begging you. I’m so sorry. I love you. I don’t want to lose you over this. We’ll find a way, alright? I’ll do whatever you want me to. I’ll embrace it, I’ll deny it, I’ll do anything. I love you. PLEASE know that.

 

Getting more and more upset, Louis logged into voxer and listened to the messages Harry had left. They all sounded weird, with tons of background noises, and Louis wondered where he was when each of them was recorded.

 

_Louis, I know you’re upset with me, and you have every right to be. It couldn’t have sounded good. But I have every right to try to explain this to you. We need to be adults here._

 

_Alright, I’m sorry for implying you weren’t being an adult. I know you’re teaching, and God knows if you even know what the hell I’m talking about. Knowing you, you’re probably thinking I killed someone or something. It’s alright. I love you, and we’re okay. Oh, and I didn’t kill anyone._

 

_Oh my god, Louis, seriously?! Fucking hell, just ANSWER YOUR PHONE!_

 

_I’m-I’m sorry I yelled. I won’t do it again. But please call me or…or something. I love you._

 

_So, basically, after the radio show was over, I said something like, ‘oh now I can call Louis’, and Nick was like, ‘oh who’s Louis’, and I was like, ‘oh my boyfriend, he teaches over at Hyde Clarendon’, and then PR people fucking burst in and took me and they took my phone and I’m pretty sure I sent you a really fucking weird text, that’s what it was. I was so scared because I didn’t recognize these people, only their uniforms, and so I thought it was like a ruse or something and I was getting kidnapped or some shit. I was so scared, Louis, and then Paul came and saved me, and drove me to my flat, and it took me the whole ride back home to realize what the FUCK had just happened, and Nick’s been calling me like crazy but I hav-_

 

_Sorry, Voxer app hung up on me. Where was I? Oh, right. But I haven’t answered and I’m not talking to anyone right now, I haven’t been on twitter or anything, and maybe I should and just say something random and stupid to let the fans know nothing is going on, but that’s up to you because do you_ want _me to act like nothing is going on? And anyway Zayn met me at my flat and then I grabbed the keys to the Rover and I’m in it now and - Paul, shut the fuck up, I’m on voxer, not talking on the phone - and yeah and they’re with me, Louis I need you to call, baby. Please. I’m so sorry._

 

_I know this is the one thing you never wanted to happen, and I’m so terrified you’ll leave me for this. But I’m here. I’m on my way to Hyde right now, and I’ll be waiting in the school parking lot in the Rover. I love you._

 

_Baby, PR is calling me like mad, I need you to get back to me. I won’t tell them anything until you let me know what you want. This one’s about you, alright? I love you._

 

Apparently, Harry had given up after that - or Zayn and Paul had finally taken his phone. Either way, Louis was glad for it. He needed to figure out what the _hell_ he was going to do about this.

Louis logged onto twitter and checked the worldwide trends, and sure enough, there were now five trends involving him and Harry. There was even one with their combined names - ‘ _#LarryStylinson_ ’ - and what the hell was Louis going to do with that? People _knew_ who he _was_.

Lillian had found out. Lillian, Louis knew, was the biggest gossip in the school. If she knew, everyone would know by the end of the day. Not only that, but Harry had said it on one of the biggest, most popular radio shows in the _country_. That meant people across the country knew. And Louis knew about Harry Styles fans - they were _everywhere_. So people all around the _globe_ knew who he was!

There would be people. With cameras, and mean spirits, and death threats, and people wanting to get to know his parents, and his - oh, God - his sisters, and people would come to Hyde Clarendon, and want to see him and know who he was - and he couldn’t even blame them, because who _wouldn’t_ want to see the boyfriend of Harry Styles? Especially considering that Louis was Harry’s first boyfriend ever?

Louis spent his free period with his head in his hands, praying for some type of miracle.

None came.

Third period came around, and Louis struggled to teach the same lesson as first period. But the students were gaping openly, and a few even asked outright. Louis ignored the questions, but he was pretty sure his face (which, Louis was certain, was fluctuating from alarmingly red to ghost white) answered their questions.

Finally, he gave the class the assignment and sat at his desk, head in his hands some more. He glanced up every few minutes to make sure none of the kids were dead or anything, and put his head back down.

Fourth period was spent with Louis pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes with (hopefully) enough pressure to burst his eyeballs. (It didn’t work.) He was sick of seeing the students staring at him. It was just as bad as he’d feared, Louis knew. The students couldn’t look at him the same way. At least, not most of them. The kids who basically lived under _rocks_ and knew nothing about pop culture were fine, as were the unpopular kids with no friends to share gossip with. But there weren’t many of either students in his classes, which left Louis with a severe problem.

At the end of the day, Louis packed up his things and began the walk through the halls towards the exit. A few teachers gave him long, searching looks, but none of them stopped him. It was probably the look on his face (the one that said he could find no reason why life should be taking place at the current moment in time) that prevented them. Good thing, too.

Louis didn’t bother to check his phone, and when he got outside, he regretted it. The second he stepped out of the building, a camera flashed in his eyes. Louis looked around, dazed, and saw a man standing with a giant camera pointed at Louis. Blinking the flash from his eyes, Louis glanced around to get the colors back, and that’s when he saw it.

Parked in front of a car was a massive black Range Rover, and leaning against it was Zayn, with Niall and Liam. Louis looked through the windshield and saw Harry and Paul in the seat, both unable to get out because they were too recognizable (Zayn lived with Harry, but rarely went out with him; Paul went everywhere with Harry, because it was his job).

Zayn pushed off the giant automobile with his elbows, taking a step towards Louis. Niall and Liam stood up straighter, as well. Louis held up his hands and walked numbly to his own car. He didn’t look through the windshield again at Harry or Paul, and he didn’t look back at Zayn, Niall, or Liam.

Louis got in his car, fastened the belt, and drove home. He was distantly aware of the Range Rover following him, but when he reached his complex, he parked and walked straight into the building, not waiting for any of them. Zayn, Niall, and Liam got the message, and so did Paul, but either Harry didn’t get it, or he ignored it. Harry walked straight into the building, a few seconds behind Louis, and of course, Paul followed.

Louis didn’t slow down, knowing Harry couldn’t make a scene (Paul wouldn’t let him), and when he got to his flat, he shut and bolted the door behind him. Louis dropped his phone on the couch and went to make tea, like always. He ignored the banging on the door, the insistent pleading, sounding broken and hopeless coming from the other side of his front door. Louis ignored the ringing of his phone - both home and cell - and sat down on the couch with his big cup of tea, drinking but not really tasting it. He went through the daily motions and went to bed, wishing he knew what to do. He wasn’t sure what time it had been when he heard Paul gently pulling Harry away, and he wasn’t sure what time it had been when his phone finally died, but he went to bed at eleven-thirty and didn’t fall asleep until four in the morning.

The next morning, Louis shut off his alarm, took a shower, and got dressed in his usual clothes, picked up his brief case and his phone from the couch (he would charge it in the car), and left for work. The drive to school was void of anything but sadness - he missed Harry, his job would be worlds different of what it had been just yesterday morning, and he didn’t know what to do about either.

When he got to the school, there were a few people with cameras, and even a reporter who threw questions at him on his way into the building. Minding his gentlemanly manners, Louis made it to the door and opened it with a flourish, exclaiming, “If you would like to go inside, ladies first. If not, please excuse me and leave school property before I phone in the police on you lot. This is a privately-owned bit of land, and you’re already interfering with the education of these young minds. Thank you, madam; have a wonderful day.” He left the woman looking shocked and walked into his school, down the hallways full of gawking students, and into his classroom. Niall and Liam were sitting in their chairs, already with their papers out, having decided to let Louis deal with his relationship in his own way (as long as it turned out the way they wanted it to).

Louis was grateful for their non-interference, and gave them a tight smile and nod before opening his phone. Loads of missed calls, texts, more e-mails, and more voxer messages. Louis ignored them all, not wanting to hear anything from Harry until he was sure of what he wanted to do with their relationship.

The day was easy and difficult at the same time. The skit Louis had assigned the day before wasn’t due until the next day, and Louis gave everyone the day in class to work on it quietly. But it was hard because Louis was sat at his desk all day, blatantly ignoring questions and trying not to hear Harry’s name being thrown around - and also, ‘Larry Stylinson’. Seriously, what the fuck.

Louis stayed in for his free period, and stayed in for his lunch, as well. When it was time to leave at the end of the school day, Louis packed up his things and walked out of the door, ignoring the few little flashes. He glanced up from the ground and saw the Rover, Zayn, Niall, and Liam in front of it - just like the day before. Just like the day before, Zayn moved towards him, and just like the day before, Louis stopped him and made his way to his car.

But this time, the Rover didn’t follow him home, and there were no banging or calls from the other side of the door. Louis’ phone rang a few times, but mostly, Harry left him alone.

By the time Louis crawled into bed, his eyes were red and puffy from crying. He missed Harry - they’d been in each other’s lives for over a year now, and they’d been talking every day for months and months. Louis wasn’t even upset with Harry anymore; he believed Harry, believed it had been a mistake. But Louis couldn’t talk to Harry until he figured out what to do. It would only hurt both of them more to be indecisive about their relationship.

Knowing he was being responsible didn’t help Louis. After tossing and turning for three hours, Louis caved. Dialing the number he knew better than anyone’s, Louis listened at the dial tone. Harry picked up quickly.

“Louis!” Harry breathed.

“Harry, I - I’m _so_..I’m _so_ sorry…I just - I don’t really know, I just -”  
Harry cut Louis off. “No, babe, it was my fault, well - well I mean inadvertently but it was _my_ voice came through the radio…I’m so, so -”

“No,” Louis said sadly. Harry stopped talking once he heard the tone. “I’m sorry, because I can’t do this. We can’t - I mean, I can’t - this can’t happen. I can’t do this to you, but I’m so unsure of our whole relationship now, and -”

“But, Louis, _nothing has changed_!” Harry shouted tearfully; Louis could hear it through the phone. “I still love you, and I _know_ you still love me because you always cave and call me after three hours of not sleeping, and I knew you’d go to bed early today because I knew you didn’t sleep well last night. I _knew_ that, Lou, because I _love_ you. If I love you and you love me…” Harry swallowed hard. “Then why can’t we stay together?”

“Harry…” Louis shook his head and closed his eyes (not that Harry could see either) and sighed. “I just don’t _know_ -” Louis’ voice broke at the end, and Harry took a shuddery breath.

“Can I - can I come over? I’ll bring Paul to stand right in the doorway, please just let me…I don’t like you crying.”

Louis made a noise of protest. “I think you should stay, Harry. God, I love you so much.” Tears were flowing choppily down his face now, and his jaw was clenching and unclenching. “I think you should stay where you are.”

Harry nodded over the phone. “Okay,” he mumbled, sniffing. “But, Lou…can you just think about it? About us? Nothing has to change. Just…just think on it, okay?”

Louis nodded. “Alright. I’ll think about it. Jesus, Harry…I love you. I’ll think. Okay? Yeah. And get back to you as soon as I decide.”

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright. Call me any time, Lou. I took leave for two weeks. Well. Paul took leave for two weeks _for_ me. Says it’s better if I stay at home, rather than mope about in public.” He laughed without humor, and Louis did the same. “Hey, Lou,” he whispered.

“Yeah?”

Harry hesitated. “What do you call a blonde in an institution of higher learning?”

Louis swallowed. “I…I’m gonna go to bed. Okay?”

Harry sighed shakily. “Alright. Do you want me to sing?”

“No.” Louis closed his eyes as he said it, hoping Harry wouldn’t hear the yearning in his voice. Louis was dying to hear Harry sing again. It had been so long.

It was a long time before Harry answered. “I know you want to hear it,” he began. “But…goodnight, Lou. I love you.”

Louis nodded to himself. “I - I love you, too.”

 

\---

 

Niall, Liam, and Zayn were on the phone. Well, Niall and Liam were in Niall’s room on the phone with Zayn, whom Niall had put on speaker.

“Alright, so what’s the genius plan you’ve come up with to get them back together?” Zayn asked.

Liam and Niall looked at each other, smirking.

“I’m going to be Harry,” Liam explained, “and Nialler’s gonna be Lou. We’re gonna recreate this whole situation and then we’re gonna list the reasons we belong together.”

“It’ll make Lou realize that whatever the fuck he’s doing is fucking stupid, and that he needs to get his shit together and get back to bum-fucking Harry,” Niall said matter-of-factly.

“I would say something about bum-fucking, but we’re focusing on Louis and Harry tonight,” Zayn commented dryly. Niall blushed. “Anyways, how exactly is this not going to be totally recognizable and make a scene? You’ll look pretty stupid, walking around your school pretending to be Louis and Harry, lads. Sorry.”

“Thanks for the confidence, mate,” Liam quipped. “But no, it’s for drama. We had an assignment to be star-crossed lovers, in different situations. This’ll be our situation. We might not get the bonus for creativity, but, it’ll save Louis’ love life, so. We better at least get an A.”

Zayn was thoughtful for a while. “That, is actually smart. Who thought of that?”

“I did,” Niall admitted shyly.

“Of course you did, my smart college student. You’re so fit,” Zayn’s voice started lowering, and Liam rolled his eyes and left the room before they started their bout of phone sex for the evening.

 

\---

 

“Horan and Payne, come on up,” Louis finally announced, too tired to give his best mates a genuine smirk They were the last skit, having begged for more time to prepare. As the two lads made their way to the stage, Louis raised his eyebrows when he realized the way they looked.

Niall had his hair gelled down into a fringe that swooped off to the side. He had stage makeup - bronzer - on his face, which made him look completely different. A tanned Niall was much different. Niall had on tight skinny jeans and a blue and white striped shirt, held on by suspenders. _Are those mine?_ Louis wondered. Niall had been over to his house with the rest of the lads; he easily could have gotten them…Niall also had a pair of blue TOMS.

Liam, on the other hand, had his hair poofed out, letting his curls get unruly, and he had white powder on his face, making him pale. A pale Liam was also…quite different. Liam was wearing tight trousers, purple high top trainers, and a purple Jack Wills hoodie. Which also belonged to Louis…

Niall was holding a giant messenger bag and Liam was carrying a microphone. The two started the scene on opposite ends of the stage; while Niall sat at a desk onstage and pulled out papers and made silly remarks, Liam walked around with the microphone and started singing a Harry Styles song.

Louis’ eyes narrowed.

Liam finally put down the microphone and bowed, waving and blowing kisses to imaginary adoring fans, while Niall packed his things up with a happy sigh, and the two met in the middle of the stage. They sat down next to each other and started swapping ginger jokes, and they apparently hit it off well, because they exchanged numbers ( _after_ Liam told Niall he was a famous singer, and Niall told Liam he was a very infamous Drama teacher).

Louis’ jaw clenched.

The two separated again and pulled out phones as they both lay in “bed”. To help out the audience, they read their ‘texts’ aloud.  
  


“ _Niall, you’re my very best friend. It’s only been seven months, and I am so crazy about you. Will you be my boyfriend?”_

 

The class giggled for a few seconds, but then Niall was texting back, answering,

 

“ _Oh, Liam. I’m not sure. I don’t know if I could handle the relationship. I’m in love with you, as well, but I don’t want our careers jeopardized by our relationship; do you understand?”_

 

_“I understand perfectly, Niall. That’s very responsible, and courageous and wonderful of you, and I think I might have fallen for you even more. Please, be with me. Make me happy.”_

 

Niall paused to think, running his hand through his new fringe. _“It would have to be secret. We have too much to lose, don’t you think?”_

 

_“Of course, you’re brilliant!”_ Liam exclaimed, looking amazed at Niall’s genius. _“Let’s be together in secret, and I promise never to tell. We can be together forever. I love you.”_

 

_“I love you, too, Liam.”_

 

Louis’ hands balled into fists at his desk.

The two lads separated again, and Liam stood with his microphone and Niall stood with his messenger bag and papers. While Niall silently walked around, waving papers at an imaginary classroom, Liam began talking.

“Oh, the interview’s over? Sweet, now I can text Niall Horan. I love my boyfriend,” he muttered under his breath, seeming absorbed in the text message. Seconds later, Liam gasped and clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide.

Niall took over, now giving a speech on love and how some people are just _meant_ to be. He stopped the lecture and pointed to an imaginary student. “What are we looking at over here, hmm? Let’s see.” He snatched an imaginary phone and read it out loud, eyes widening. “’Liam Payne announces his boyfriend Niall Horan’?!”

Niall dropped the phone and ran off stage for a moment.

Louis bit his lip to keep from yelling.

Liam took center stage now, texting and calling and trying to reach Niall. He had actual tears in his eyes as he lamented, “God, I think it’s over. I think he hates me now. The one thing we agreed on in terms of our relationship, and I’ve just ruined it on accident. I _know_ we’re meant to be, though…I need to keep trying.” With that, Liam put the phone to his ear and walked off.

Niall walked onto the stage, shaking and sobbing. He looked up to meet Louis’ eyes and, with tears glistening on his face, cried, “What do I _do_? I know I’m meant to be with Liam. I know I am. It doesn’t _matter_ that he’s completely different. I just - I need Liam to make me happy. Why am I ignoring him when I need him so much? Is it my pride?”

Liam walked onto the stage, meeting Niall. The two hugged and sat down on the floor of the stage, holding hands. Liam caressed Niall’s face and said quietly, “I am so sorry I’ve messed this up. But I love the way that you’re protective of your students, and I love the way you text me to let me know you’re awake and I can talk to you. I love how, when you know I’ve had a rough day, you call me and _you_ sing to _me_ , and even though you think your voice is shit, it’s beautiful to me. I love the way you keep everything real, and you pop me over the head if I act like a diva. I love the way you burn _everything you ever cook_ , because I secretly love cooking for you. I just…love you, Niall. Please forgive me. We belong together.”

These were things Louis always needed to hear. But Harry never said them, and Louis shook his head and looked at the ground.

“And I love the way you gripe and moan about not having a date to the events just because you want to ask me but know I won’t go. I love the way you’re insecure sometimes so I have to cuddle you, because I love playing in your hair and making you all pliant and content. I love the way you tickle me when I’m in a bad mood, because talking about it would only make me angrier. I love the way you sing to me when I can’t sleep, and I miss you when you’re gone. I hate the way we haven’t spoken in a few days, and I hate that I can’t figure out what the hell to do with you - even though, deep down, I know I could never walk away from you. I forgive you. And I love you. You’re right; we _belong_ together.”

The two embraced and stood together, holding hands and bowing. The class giggled but clapped anyways, and Louis suddenly needed to see Harry. He grabbed his phone and wallet and walked to the door.

“Liam, you’re in charge; the rest of you, I’m going to take a shit and I expect you to behave. Liam, let them out five minutes early if they behave like good little boys and girls.” Liam nodded and Louis walked out the door. Leaving the building, cameras flashed a bit, and magnified suddenly out of nowhere. Louis spun, dazed, as Harry turned the corner and strode to Louis. He paused a few feet away, but Louis just shook his head and strode to him, smashing their mouths together passionately. Harry sobbed into Louis’ mouth and kissed back just as fierce, and growled when Paul pulled them apart.

They were escorted to the Rover and Paul drove as Louis and Harry made out in the backseat.

Forty minutes later, Louis remembered it was a work day and called into the main office. “Kari? Hey, love, it Louis Tomlinson. I’ve just gotten ridiculously sick and need a su-” Louis was cut off and blushed. “Erm, well, yes. He…he’s right here.” Louis passed the phone to Harry, sending a pleading look. Harry burst out laughing as he grabbed the phone.

“’Lo? Kari, is it? …Yes, I’m Harry…Good, and how are you, love? …That’s great. Listen, could you maybe…Oh, really? Already? Well, that was very responsible of him…Yes…Thank you, love. Absolutely; I’ll send them in with Lou when he comes back on Monday. Yes. Absolutely. So lovely, thank you! Bye!”

Harry passed the phone back with a smirk. “Liam called in for a sub already once you left.”

Louis looked at his hands and nodded. “That was lovely of him.”

“Mmm.” Louis looked up at Harry’s shocked tone. “You just used me,” he said, disbelieving. But his eyes were playful, and his lips were curving into a smirk.

“Well, if you’d rather me go back to work, I could always tell Paul to-”

Louis was cut off by Harry’s lips, fitting perfectly with his own.

They were meant to be together.


End file.
